Merry Christmas!
Deck them halls with books of comics! Cathy and I painted last week at the home of Brenda Swenson, famous watercolorist and author of a Walter Foster book, in South Pasadena. Although rain threatened, none fell. About 30 painters showed up to do studies of the old neighborhood houses and the South Pas. water tower. Brenda has a small collection of antique truck bodies in her back yard that proved to be cooperative painting subjects! She served great bowls of steaming bishop, plum pudding, hog jowls, chitlin’s and chestnuts! (I’m only serious.) I prefer hot Tom n’ Jerry, but it’s scarce in these parts. Cathy did a charming oil of Brenda’s front porch with wreath and poinsettia plant, I did the neighbor’s house with dark bougainvillea in the foreground. The light was very touch and go due to the shifting cloud cover. Have a peaceful and joyous Holiday season, everyone! By the way, there’s only one more episode of Lane Allen’s Diary, then maybe someone will step up with more of them!
Amir says:
These are cool, Merry Christmas Mark!
juan Alfonso says:
What in the world is a steaming bishop?Is it some sort of pudding?We had the usual cuban feast here-roast pork,black beans and rice,cassava root and for dessert,nougats.Merry Xmas,Feliz Navidad!
Mark Kausler says:
Hi Juan,
Steaming bishop is referred to in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. It is basically a bowl of hot punch with mulled ale and fruit juices of many kinds blended together. That Cuban feast sounds great! I hope you got your Christmas Card! Feliz Navidad and Prospero Ano Nuevo!
Mark
Mark Kausler says:
Hi Juan,
I misspoke here. The drink is really called “Smoking Bishop”. It was mentioned in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Here’s the recipe: 1. Take six Seville Oranges and bake them in a moderate oven until pale brown. If you can’t get Sevilles, use four regular oranges and one large grapefruit.
2. Prick each of the oranges with five whole cloves, put them in a warmed ceramic or glass vessel with one-quarter pound of sugar and a bottle of red wine, cover the vessel, and leave it in a warm place for 24 hours.
3. Take the oranges out of the mixture, cut in half and squeeze the juice, then pour the juice back into the wine.
4. Pour the mixture into a saucepan through a sieve, add a bottle of port, heat (without boiling) and serve in warmed glasses.
5. Drink the mixture, and keep Christmas well!
So, this is sort of like Sangria, with smoked oranges, Sevilles have a bitter taste, so that’s why you add grapefruit if you are using sweet oranges. The port wine is absolutely essential to getting an authentic Bishop, in that Port wine was actually called “Bishop” in Dickens’s time. This sounds quite easy to make, much easier than hot Tom n’ Jerry!
Juan Alfonso says:
Thanks for the recipe!It would make a nice difference from the usual spanish hard cider we drink on Xmas eve.I wonder why they called port “bishop”?
I hope you had a wonderful New Year!If I’m lucky,I may be in your neighborhood around the Fourth of July weekend.See ya!